Four Sino-Finnish energy sector pilot projects were announced on 14 January 2019 in connection with the state visit to China of President Sauli Niinistö. The pilot projects focus on clean energy supply, district heating and cooling solutions, smart and flexible energy solutions and renewable energy solutions.
The pilot projects announced by China’s National Energy Administration (NEA) this week are the Energy Internet, geothermal in Zhoukou, Biomass gasification for coal fueled power plant, and Micro-energy grids in Nansha. Chinese and Finnish energy companies and other stakeholders will now in cooperation launch concrete measures to promote these four projects.
At the project application stage, the technological strengths of both countries and their resolve to reach tangible results were emphasised. The completion of the pilot projects is based on the cooperation between Finland's Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment and NEA.
In accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding signed by the Finnish and Chinese ministries in June 2017, NEA opened a China-wide project application round, which attracted twenty applications in total.
After a preliminary shortlisting by NEA, the Finnish-Chinese group of experts selected the final four pilot projects. The Finnish panel of experts, which consisted of representatives from Business Finland, universities and the corporate world, emphasised the importance of innovative solutions that feature an extensive company offering and that can be easily duplicated in different markets.
“We are engaged in long-term cooperation with NEA, and from the very beginning we have been building on cooperation based on the strengths of both countries. Opportunities for cooperation in the energy sector were taken into account in the Joint Declaration signed during the state visit of the President of the People’s Republic of China, Xi Jinping, in 2017,” says Pentti Puhakka, Ministerial Adviser, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment.
“The Finnish companies participating in Business Finland’s Smart Energy Finland program offer innovative, reliable and clean solutions. The active participation of these companies in our activities in China has been essential for the creation of these pilot projects and for building cooperation based on trust,” says Helena Sarén, Program Director for Smart Energy Finland Program, Business Finland.
This release was first published 16 January 2018 by Business Finland.
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